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'Gossip Girl' spinoff in the works

January 14, 2009 | 5:47
pm

"Gossip Girl" is about to get a spinoff that won't have a gossip girl in it. At least, not one that communicates by texting, blogging or e-mailing.

That's because the CW has decided to move ahead with a spinoff of its hit series by flashing back to the '80s, a move that was first reported by the Hollywood Reporter today and was denied as recently as Monday by CW President of Entertainment Dawn Ostroff at a press event.

But now the CW confirms the show is in the works, and, no, there's no typo in the aforementioned description. The second edition of "Gossip Girl" will reside in the world of Madonna, Jordache jeans and George Michael because it will follow the adolescence of wild girl Lily Rhodes (her maiden name) as she has a falling out with her parents.

The pilot will air as an episode of "Gossip Girl" on May 11, a CW spokesman said. "Gossip Girl" executive producers Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz will create the show, which will follow Lily in her wild days, decades before she became Lily van der Woodsen ('"Gossip's" Kelly Rutherford).

According to the CW's notes on the project, Lily moved in with her sister, the black sheep of the Rhodes family. Accustomed to her privileged lifestyle — attending a wealthy Montecito boarding school and living the high life — Lily is now forced to live deep in the Valley she once mocked and attend public school.

"Caught between two worlds, Lily dives into the fast-paced Sunset Strip and the Hollywood lifestyle of the ’80s, journeying over the hill to a world of wealth and excess that used to be her own," the notes say.

Eventually she meets rocker Rufus Humphrey ("Gossip's" Matthew Settle) for a fling that will result in Lily's secret pregnancy, the Hollywood Reporter said.

On Monday's "Gossip Girl" episode, Lily and Rufus found the family that adopted their son but were told that he was dead. But viewers later saw that he is very much alive, like the spinoff.